Hosiery and making same



Oct. 28, 1941. D. WAGENHQRST HOSIERY AND MAKING SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 5, 1940 m m. 1 3 .n m r .u f s u m 8 g y 3 W 1941. D. WAGENHORST 2,260,950

HOSIERY AND MAKING SAME Filed Feb. 5, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (.esler Dillhsenhors Zinnentor Gttbrnego Patented Oct. 28,1941

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2.26019 Lester Df zjaff r hoil lfiding Pi assignor to The Nolde and Horst Company, Rea

a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 5, 1940, Serial No. 317,257 4 Claims. (o1. 66-].73)

My invention relates to weft-knitted hosiery having a turned welt top portion, and to its production on a straight-bar or full-fashioned knitting machine.

My primary object is to provide for turning a very short welt, if desired, as little as one-half an inch,not heretofore deemed possible, and giving a novel and pleasing effect of a. ribbon-like finish to the top of the stocking.

Another object is to provide a novel initial loop course to be engaged by the welt bar in a manner to facilitate transfer back to theneedles in turning a welt, requiring less exactness in reengagement, and forming an improved and less bulky line of junction with the course of loops with which it is interknitted.

Another object is to provide a novel tension take-up means which may engage in the short welt and initially lie close to the needles and free of contact with the loop-forming sinkers, dividers and knock-over bits. v

Another object is to provide for these improved results without disturbance or interference with the usual known knitting machine mechanism.

With the aforesaid objects in mind, and with other objects that will later herein appear, my invention comprises the novel stocking construction, and the method of producingthe same, hereinafter more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, the novel features of which are particularly set forth in'the appended claims. 4

Fig. 1 is a conventional 'sideview of a stocking embodying a preferred very short top welt portion in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a uch enlarged diagrammatic plan view showing of an initial weft laid yarn projected between the needles to form a usual course of loops.

Fig. 3 is a like plan view, showing the loops of Fig. -2 engaged by the hooks of'a welt bar, with alternate loops held from engaging in the beards of their needles.

Fig. 4 is another like plan view showing several .courses of the knitted fabric, and the fw'elt bar hooks engaging and holding spread the initial course of loops.

Fig. 5 is another like plan view showing the spread loops being transferred onto the needles, the knitted fabric underlying the turned portion take-up bar in place within the turned welt portion..

sectional elevations of a needle.bar such as indicated in Figs. 2 to 5, with its associated sinkers, dividers, and knock-over bits; Fig. 6 indicating a welt bar hook engaging a loop of my special initial course, and a picot bar point holding a loop away from engaging under a needle beard; and

Fig..7 showing the turned welt with the initial course of loops reengaged on the needles, and my novel take-up bar engaged within the turned welt and lying free of contact betweenthe sinkers and knock-over bits. i"

Fig. 8 is a separate small scale plan view of my novel take-up bar; and-Fig. 9v a-cross sectional view of the same indicating the bridge on which it travels and means for preventing itstuming on its longitudinal axis during such travel.

'The making of full-fashioned weft-knitted stocking is of course well known, as well as the means employed to form a turned welt, comprising a welt-bar to engage the initial course of loops and transfer them'to the needles in a subsequently knitted fabric course, at which time a rod is ordinarily inserted within the turned welt and attached to a take-up roll so as to exert a necessary draw-off tension on the fabric being knitted. The turned welt thus formed is a recognized commonly employed way of securing the-otherwise free end loops of the initial course, and the depth of this welt has varied with custom and demand, but is necessarily of adepth of approximately two inches as the narrowest welt that could be practically made commercially. This approximate length was the practical minimum to insure manual pressing off of the loops from the welt-bar, to the needles, and to space the take-up rod out oflthepath of the advancing sinkersand dividers and away from the knock-over bits.

The desirability of simplifying the loop transfer from the welt bar and making it free .from

faults due to a missed loop engagement,-as well as the making of a narrower welt to save time and material in knitting the stocking, has long been recognized, but not practically possible heretofore. My improved welt and the manner of making it, now to be fully described, accomof the welt being omitted as confusing to a clear disclosure, but indicating a portion of my novel plishes both the aforesaid objects in a feasible and commercially productive manner, with a less bulky and niore'elastic course of the interknitted loops of the initial and terminal courses of the welt fabric, and with a pleasing narrow welt giving a ribbon-like finish to the top of the stocki 1 Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1, indicating a Figs. 6-7 are enlarged diagrammatic crossstocking emb dying y inv n, the leg P tion I and foot portion 2, are knitted as hereto fore, and this figure shows my new narrow turned-welt 3, which may be as little as one-half inch in depth, as contrasted with the usual welt of approximately four inches in depth, and the heretofore minimum of approximately two inches. The portion 4 below the narrow turned welt 3, may be knitted as desired, but is preferably made of a somewhat heavier yarn with several picot courses as indicated, both for guarding against runs and for a pleasing appearance, this portion 4 ordinarily extending about the depth of the usual deep turned-welt and terminating well above the knee of a wearer.

My improved initial course of knitting to'facilitate loop transfer from a wait bar to the needles, as illustrated in the drawings, is made as follows: A yarn carrier is traversed along the line of needles 6 to lay an initial weft to the rear of the needles, which weft is formed, as heretofore, by the advancing sinkers and dividers 1, into loops projecting forwardly between the needles, each of which loops is then engaged on its respective hook 8 of a welt bar having a hook for each needle employed. At this point I provide for a special dipping operation of a usual picot bar, having picot points 9, 9 arranged to cooperatively engage the loops of alternate needles as heretofore. The picot bar, instead of shifting laterally to transfer its engaged yarn bends onto the-adjacent needles, as in making a picot course, is for this special purpose moved upwardly, so that upon descent of the needles 6, the yarn bends engaged by points 9, will ride over, instead of ,under, the beards of their needles 6, and clear the latter. An initial course of loops I0 is thus formed, as indicated in Fig. 4, having substantially one half as many loops as needles originally engaged, and each loop held laterally spread by engagement with two hooks 8 of the welt-bar.

With the initial course of loops I0 thus formed and held by the welt-bar hooks l, the picot-bar is withdrawn, and knitting, as usual, started to produce the necessary length of fabric to form the turned welt. For the present desirable narrow welt shown, approximately only one inch of fabric is required, at which point knitting is arrested, and the welt turned.

It is not possible to employ the usual take-up rod in this short welt, as it would interfere with the advancing sinkers and dividers which would tear and cut the fabric, and I therefore employ a special take-up bar l5, as later herein more fully described.

The loops 10 are transferred to the needles 6 by alining the welt bar-hooks 8, with said needles; and due to the loops l0 being held in laterally spaced relation extending over two fabric wales, as shown, they readily and freely engage the needles without the need of meticulous accuracy, or pressing down as heretofore; and while desirable that each loop l0 engage on two needles 8, it is not essential, and should one needle be missed, the other needle engagement would look the loop against starting a run. When the welt is thus easily and quickly'turned, knitting is resumed to finish the stocking as heretofore. My

improvements do not interfere with the locaduce a novel flat lying course of junction with the loops of the main course with which they are interknitted. This fiat neat junction line is due to only one-half the number of usual loops being used in the initial course; and the interknitted junction line has a greater elasticity and greatly improved appearance over the usual line of junction, or of any produced by expensive and complicated automatic welt-turning attachments. I prefer to employ a loose course of main fabric loops at this course of transfer which further enhances the appearance of this junction line.

'In order to provide a proper draw-oil tension of the fabric being knitted, the requirement for which is well known and understood in the art, I employ a special take-up bar I 5, before referred to, and shown particularly in Figs. 8 and 9. This bar, as shown, is preferably comparatively thin and flat, of a width preferably less than one-half inch, and a length sumcient to span across a needle section of a machine so its ends may rest on usual side bridges l1 and travel thereon under pull of spaced straps l6, l8, from -a usual take-up roll, not shown. The ends of this bar are preferably of reduced width and notches l8, l8 are provided to hold the straps I6, l8 from shifting their positions. These reduced width ends, as shown, engage under guard track I! on the side bridges so the bar will not turn on its longitudinal axis.

This bar l5, as before described, is laid within the turned welt, and as the strain of take-up tension thereon is in the plane of its fiat width, giving a strength against bowing under pull of the straps l6, l6, practically equivalent of a round rod having a diameter equal to its width. And its ends being engaged under the guard tracks I9 are prevented from turning axially to maintain this resistance to bowing.

The bar l5 being thin and narrow, may readily be set within even the short 'tumed-welt above described, and when thus engaged, it may lie between the sinker and dividers, and the knock-over bits, as seen in Fig. 7, without danger of contact with the former as they are advanced during their usual operation. This bar I5 may of course be used for deeper turned-melts, and functions in the manner of usual take-up rods, with the added advantage of use for very narrow turned-welts as described.

My invention, above fully described, fully accomplishes my stated objects: The special loops III of the initial course greatly facilitate transfer to the needles from the welt bar, and, as-they eliminate the heretofore necessary hand pressing down of the loopsrpermit of a very narrow turned welt, close to the needles, and leaving small space for such hand pressing. Should the loops miss the desired engagement with both needles to which they are intended to be transferred, engagement with one needle will prevent any danger of runs caused by such miss. And with my thin 'fiat take-.oif bars a narrow turnedwelt may be given proper tension without contact or interference with the advanced sinkers and dividers. And the greater elasticity of my welt junction course permits location of the course at a higher point on the leg of a wearer than could be comfortably borne with the welt junction course previously'commonly employed.

The method and mechanism for making my improved stocking, incidentally presented herein, is separately set forth and claimed in a division of this application, Ser. No. 413,243, filed by me October 2, 1941.

The particular construction above specifically described, may of course be modified and changed within the spirit of my invention as definec'. in the following claims.

- What I claim is:

1. A weft-knitted stocking having 9, turned welt approximately one-half inch in depth, the initial course of which turned-over welt has laterally spreads loops each interknitted with two adjacent loops in the .course of its junction with the main fabric.

2. A full-fashioned stocking having a leg portion and a turned welt at the upper edge of the latter, each loop of the initial course of the turned welt being interknitted with two loops in the terminal course of the welt.

3. A full-fashioned stocking having a leg portion and a,turned welt at the upper edge of the edge of the stocking, which comprises knitting a pre-determined welt length having an initial course of loops each extending over two wales of the fabric, transferring each of said initial course loops over the loops of two adjacent wales of the terminal course of welt, interknitting said initial course loops with said terminal course loops, and

then continuing knitting of the stocking.

LESTER D. WAGENHORST. 

